Interacting with lieux de mémoire : defining identity and othering through space

This thesis originates from one fundamental question: is it possible to use interactions with lieux de mémoire to exclude members of a community and turn them into others? To answer this question, framed in the context of memory studies, this thesis analyses three case studies spanning from the 1st century BCE to the 1st century CE. The goal of the first chapter – dedicated to the analysis of the discourses regarding the demolition of Cicero’s house – is to demonstrate that interactions with lieux de mémoire were considered significant to ascertaining the belonging to the community of its members. To do so, I analyse Cicero’s defence strategy in De Domo Sua against an accusation of tyranny and point out the central role Cicero attributes to the use of space in the process of his othering, which turned him from a citizen to an exile. The second and third chapter – dedicated respectively to the study of the presence of the Galli in Rome and to the analysis of Plutarch’s narrative of Sulla’s siege of Athens – explore some of the forms the process of othering through the use of space could take and put them in relation with changes in collective memory and changes in lieux de mémoire. In so doing, this thesis argues that physical interactions with symbolical space could generate discussions regarding the appropriateness of these interactions in relation to the frame of value shared by the community who attribute meaning to the space. Since the appropriateness of these interactions is judged in relation to the symbolic value attributed to the place, the discussions generated by the interactions are turned into discussions concerning the identity of the community and about the belonging to the community of the individuals responsible for these interactions. Thus, demonstrating that interactions with lieux de mémoire can be used in processes of exclusion and othering.